Viewers Pack theaters for final chapter of horror champion

Viewers packed theaters for the final chapter of the horror franchise, which took in a whopping $34.7 million in its debut weekend.

Opening amid a movie market crowded with holdovers, "Scream 3" grossed more than the rest of the top 10 films combined. It was the biggest February premiere ever, the best debut for a horror film and the top opening for distributor Miramax, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc, which tracks the box office.

The prison drama "The Hurricane" was second with $4.9 million, followed by "Stuart Little" with $4.7 million and "Next Friday" with $4.3 million.

Last weekend's top film, the thriller "Eye of the Beholder," fell to No. 5 with $4.2 million.

Billed as the last in a trilogy, "Scream 3" reunites the survivors of the first two movies Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox on a Hollywood movie lot where they are again terrorized by a slasher.

In releasing "Scream 3" in February, Miramax took advantage of the franchise's notoriety and the quiet movie season, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations.

"I think people were questioning whether this was the right time to release a horror film. Obviously, in hindsight, it was the perfect time," Dergarabedian said. "Looking at how slow the market place has been the last few weeks, all it takes is a big movie like this to come along and it really busts things wide open."

Opening in more theaters than its two predecessors, "Scream 3" averaged an impressive $10,013 on 3,467 screens. "The Hurricane" averaged $2,300 in 2,148 cinemas.

The original "Scream" opened in 1,413 theaters and took in $6.4 million the weekend before Christmas in 1997, while "Scream 2" debuted a year later on 3,112 screens and grossed $32.9 million its first weekend.

The movies went on to gross just over $100 million each.

"Scream 3" helped jump-start a market where the top 12 films grossed a meager $43.9 million two weekends ago. The total for last Friday through Sunday was $72.4 million, compared with $62 million for the same weekend a year ago.

"Scream 3" also enjoyed the biggest film opening on record in a January-April period. But the big number didn't appear to shake Dimension Films and distributor Miramax from their earlier assurances that it is the last of the horror series.

Miramax Co-Chairman Bob Weinstein said after final weekend figures were tallied that the "anticipation of the final chapter of the trilogy" appeared to draw filmgoers to "Scream 3." He said, "The 'Scream' franchise will go out on top and in style."

The previous January-April film debut record was $31.4 million set by "Liar Liar" in March 1997.

Two new movies opened in a few hundred theaters. "Gun Shy," starring Liam Neeson and Sandra Bullock in a dark comedy about a shaky drug agent, earned $700,000 from 296 theaters. The horse-racing caper "Simpatico," starring Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges and Sharon Stone, grossed $500,000 in 283 theaters.